Voters to decide judges' retirement age

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BATON ROUGE - Voters will decide if Louisiana's judges should be forced to retire after reaching age 70 and finishing their current terms.

The Senate gave final passage to the proposed constitutional amendment with a 32-4 vote Wednesday, sending it to the voters for consideration. It will appear on the Nov. 4 ballot.

Supporters describe the proposal as a fairness issue that gives voters who elect judges the ability to decide if they think someone should no longer serve. They said it was discriminatory to have an age restriction on when someone must leave office.

Opponents say the restriction in the state constitution acts as a term limit on judges.